Month: July 2022

Serena’s Review: “The Book of Gothel”

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Book: “The Book of Gothel” by Mary McMyne

Publishing Info: Redhook, July 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: Haelewise has always lived under the shadow of her mother, Hedda—a woman who will do anything to keep her daughter protected. For with her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her medieval village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.

Then, Hedda dies, and Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the legendary tower her mother used to speak of—a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing.

But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It’s also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that unlocks a dark world of ancient spells and murderous nobles behind the world Haelewise has always known…

Review: I always love fairytale retellings, so it was pretty much a given that I would get my hands on this book somehow this summer. It also just happened that bookclub had finished up reading “Circe” (which I loved), so when I saw that this was also being compared to that plus “Wicked,” I knew this was going to jump my order of reading for July releases. It’s always so interesting to see what authors manage to dream up for characters who are not only “wicked,” but also only feature very briefly in someone else’s tale. Not only do these bare bones characters need to be fleshed out, but you have to imagine an entire history and world that will weave into a tale that must remain somewhat familiar to readers. It’s a challenge, for sure, but there are also a number of ways to go with it. Let’s dive in!

In medieval Germany, almost anything can get a woman labeled “witch.” So, between her strange fainting spells and her powerful, midwife mother, Haelewise is doomed to a childhood of side-eyes and whispers. When tragedy strikes her small family and what stability she has managed to find for herself is shaken beneath her feet, Haelewise sets off for a fabled tower her mother once spoke of. The mysterious Gothel is a refuge for women who do not fit into the narrow molds offered to them, and there Haelewise’s understanding of herself and the world explode outwards, as powerful forces clash and another strange girl, Rika, carries a secret that could change everything.

There was a lot to like about this retelling! For one thing, “Rapunzel” seems like a fresh beat in the fairytale retellings subgenre, so it immediately felt new and interesting. However, that’s not enough to make a story great. Right off the bat, it was clear the author had done her research into medieval Germany. The society, language, and culture all felt spot-on. Obviously, there was a good amount of magic, especially in the final bit of the book, but without that, it would have been easy to confuse oneself into thinking this was a historical fiction novel instead of fantasy at all. We even had a notable historical figure make an appearance, which I absolutely loved. Part of me wishes we had seen more of them, but then again, it wasn’t their story so we wouldn’t want them to steal the show.

Haelewise’s story feels achingly familiar to what we can imagine life for a strange woman in this time period would be. Her fainting fits would likely have an easily understandable medical diagnosis in our time, and it would barely affect her life. But in this time, even such a little thing as this is enough to get her marked as strange and make others leery of her. I really liked the way her character is worked into the classic fairytale, and even how “Rapunzel” herself has a tale that twists out in a unique way, though still familiar enough to be recognizable.

The book plays out over the entirety of Haelewise’s life, so we do get to see a decent amount of her childhood and youth, alongside her years as an adult. While I liked this in general, I did feel that the balance of the romance was slightly off. We got to see Haelewise and Matthuas a lot when they are younger, but the I didn’t feel like we got to see enough of them together as adults. Yes, the romance is definitely not the heart of the story, but for me, I can always do with a dash more!

Overall, I really liked this book. It’s well-researched and a fresh view of a less popular fairytale. Fans of fairytale re-tellings, especially those that focus on women who played only small roles in their original tales (ala “Circe” and “Wicked”) should definitely check this one out! Aldo, don’t forget to enter to win an ARC copy of this book!

Enter to win!

Rating 8: Right up my alley for a fairytale retelling from a “villain’s” perspective!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Book of Gothel” is on this Goodreads list: Debuts in 2022

Kate’s Review: “Deadly Setup”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Deadly Setup” by Lynn Slaughter

Publishing Info: Fire and Ice, July 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon

Book Description: When her impulsive, romance-writing mom announces her engagement to a man whose last heiress wife died under suspicious circumstances, Sam tries to dissuade her mother. But her mom is convinced she’ll finally have the “Happily Ever After” she writes about.

And then Sam’s life implodes. Her mom’s fiancé turns up dead, and a mountain of circumstantial evidence points to Sam as the killer. On trial for murder, she fights to prove her innocence with the help of her boyfriend’s dad, an ex-homicide cop.

Moonbeam Children’s Book Award bronze medalist and Agatha Christie award nominee, Lynn Slaughter returns with a new YA thriller pushing the envelope on coming-of-age stories. Dark yet hopeful, Deadly Setup shows that wealth truly doesn’t buy happiness.

Review: Thank you to Fire and Ice for sending me an ARC of this novel!

I remember being a teenager and watching “Law and Order” with my Dad on Wednesday nights once my homework was done (mostly…). I really enjoyed watching the detectives investigate a crime, and then watching the lawyers try the defendant, all for it to wrap up in about an hour’s time. As we’d watch my Dad, who was also a lawyer, would give me tips and tidbits on how the trial stuff worked as the story unfolded. It was solid bonding time. I kept thinking about this stuff as I read “Deadly Setup” by Lynn Slaughter, and how teenage me would have loved a book where a teenager was on trial for a crime she didn’t commit.

The thing that really stood out in a positive way in this novel is that the main focus of the conflict is in a fairly unique setting. In so many YA thrillers I’ve read (and adult thrillers too, thinking about it) the center of the action is in the investigation of a murder or crime. Usually the main character is an outside player, or they are a potential suspect and are using the limited time they have to clear their name. In “Deadly Setup”, we get into a full on courtroom drama that reminds me of some of Jodi Picoult’s earlier works. As someone who devoured a lot of Picoult’s older books specifically because of the courtroom aspects, and who, as mentioned above, really liked the original “Law and Order” specifically to watch Jack McCoy go through the courtroom motions, this really clicked with me. Slaughter takes on a lot of ins and outs and mechanics of how a murder trial would work, from witnesses to various functions of the lawyers to strategies either side would implement, and I think it’s so cool that she did this in a YA novel. It’s a really good way to show the audience that trials themselves can be completely nutty and that a lot of thriller dramatics can be found in a courtroom. I NEED MORE COURTROOM DRAMAS IN MY READING STACK!

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The flip side of all of this is that outside of Sam, a lot of the characters are pretty two dimensional. I thought that Sam herself was an enjoyable character, and I really felt the stress and tension and loneliness of her situation. And as our protagonist it’s good that I liked her and was invested in her journey and fate. But almost everyone else was pretty standard for the tropes that they were filling, most of which being her mother Meryl. Meryl is a cookie cutter bad mother, as she’s narcissistic, verbally cruel, willing to believe her sleazy boyfriend of a couple months over her own daughter, and more than happy to play the victim and center herself. I have no doubt that there are mothers out there like this. Hell, I have FRIENDS who have mothers like this. But I think that the problem was that her dialogue and actions were very over the top villainous. This is also seen in the victim, Meryl’s fiancé, who is clearly a dangerous gold digging predator from the jump, and while I am a okay with him being an obvious lout, it’s laid on pretty thick here. Most of the antagonists are, really. When you throw that in with some clunky dialogue here and there and a mystery solution that is a little too hinted at a little too early, the building blocks of the story feel a little shaky. Not in a way that damages the concept overall, mind you, as I did enjoy it as I was reading. But it has awkward beats because of all these things.

But I do enjoy a courtroom drama, and “Deadly Setup” has that and how! I think that the audience this is catered to will have a really unique reading experience with this one given the crux of the drama! Jack McCoy would probably approve.

Rating 7: A good concept and some really good time spent in a courtroom drama setting, though the characters were a bit two dimensional and some of the writing was a bit stilted.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Deadly Setup” is included on the Goodreads lists “Legal Thrillers”, and “Best Books for Teens by Indie Authors“.

Giveaway: “The Book of Gothel”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “The Book of Gothel” by Mary McMyne

Publishing Info: Redhook, July 2022

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: Haelewise has always lived under the shadow of her mother, Hedda—a woman who will do anything to keep her daughter protected. For with her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her medieval village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.

Then, Hedda dies, and Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the legendary tower her mother used to speak of—a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing.

But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It’s also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that unlocks a dark world of ancient spells and murderous nobles behind the world Haelewise has always known…

Giveaway Details:

I always love fairytale retellings, so it was pretty much a given that I would get my hands on this book somehow this summer. It also just happened that bookclub had finished up reading “Circe” (which I loved), so when I saw that this was also being compared to that plus “Wicked,” I knew this was going to jump my order of reading for July releases. It’s always so interesting to see what authors manage to dream up for characters who are not only “wicked,” but also only feature very briefly in someone else’s tale. Not only do these bare bones characters need to be fleshed out, but you have to imagine an entire history and world that will weave into a tale that must remain somewhat familiar to readers. It’s a challenge, for sure, but there are also a number of ways to go with it. So half the fun is seeing what each author chooses to do. I can’t wait to see where we go with this retelling!

Per the usual, my review for this book will be up Friday. But don’t wait until then to get in on the chance to win a copy of this book! This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end on August 2.

Enter to win!

Kate’s Review: “Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend” by Alys Arden and Jacquelin De Leon (Ill.)

Publishing Info: DC Comics, July 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: There’s more to the mobsters, mystics, and mermaids at the last stop on the D/F/Q trains: Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue.

Zatanna’s not your typical New Yorker. She walks her giant rabbit on a leather leash down the boardwalk, lives in a colossal architectural wonder known as the Golden Elephant, had her first kiss in the Haunted Hell Gate ride–and wouldn’t have it any other way.

But the time for having fun in Luna Park comes to an end when a mystic’s quest for a powerful jewel unravels everything Zatanna thought she knew about herself and her beloved neighborhood. Mysteries and magic surround her as she reveals the truth about her family’s legacy, and confronts the illusion that has been cast over her entire life.

From the bewitching mind behind The Casquette Girls, Alys Arden, and with enchanting artwork by Jacquelin de Leon, comes the story of a girl stuck in the middle of a magical rivalry and forced to choose between love, family, and magic without hurting anyone…or worse. 

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this graphic novel!

Though I have been fairly into DC for most of my life, I will fully admit that I haven’t encountered too much Zatanna. Sure, she does pop up here and there (I really liked her iteration in the “Bombshells” series), but she just isn’t really a character that I have encountered so much. Which is partially why I decided to pick up “Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend”. It was enticing in a few ways from the jump. For one, I love her design on the cover of his graphic novel: the the hat, the colors, everything. I also liked the concept of her being a Coney Island kid both in the sense of where she lives, but also in the sense of being part of a family of performers. I am always looking for more ladies in DC to enjoy, and “Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend” was a good primer for this character.

I liked Zatanna as a character in this, as she is very much a genial and intrepid teenage girl who loves her friends, loves her family, and loves her boyfriend. While her father Ezra puts pressure on her to join his magic act, which she isn’t really feeling, she has friends who are fortune tellers and other illusionists. She also has a boyfriend named Alexei who happens to be the son of a notoroious Russian mobster, though Alexei seems to be more tenderhearted than his family reputation. When Zatanna starts seeing strange backwards writing, and then starts to experience magic of her own, things get complicated. I liked the build up to this, as I felt that Alys Arden went at a good pace to build up background before really diving in to the story at hand. I liked the atmosphere of Luna City and Coney Island, and I liked seeing Zatanna deal with coming of age issues, be they pretty run of the mill, or more of the magical kind.

I do think that things get a little rushed in the last third. I mentioned above that I liked the background, and I definitely did, but then I felt that there was a rush to get to the heart of the story, with reveals and twists coming quickly. A lot of the time we didn’t get a moment to let some of these twists breathe, with a moment happening in one panel and then being yanked away only a couple panels later. I’m going to be vague because the moments I’m talking about are pretty spoiler heavy. But it made the focus between set up and conflict feel a bit unbalanced. Which is strange, because this is (apparently) a first volume of a continuing series. I don’t really know why the pacing got so disjointed when it could have been potentially spread out into another volume if need be, but hey, that could just be one reviewer’s opinion.

That said, I really liked the design of this book. I loved how Zatanna looked, and I loved the neon-y goodness of the Coney Island night life and the magical and opulent Luna City community.

(source)

I will probably keep going in the series as we have a true mystery at hand, and I did like this characterization of Zatanna. Plus, the artwork is to die for. I’m hoping the pacing can be a bit more balanced in the next volume, but I am intrigued by where Zatanna is going next.

Rating 7: A fun backstory for an underutilized DC heroine, with a lot of set up for future volumes, and a bit of a rushed conclusion.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend” is included on the Goodreads lists “DC Comics Female Creators”, and “Magical Fiction for Magicians”.

Not Just Books: July 2022

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

Netflix Show: “The Umbrella Academy” Season 3

This is such a weird, weird show. And I love it so much. It’s one of those shows where you literally can’t guess what’s going to happen. And even if you try, you’re probably off by several degrees of insanity. This season, however, also really hit towards all of the feelings. The crew has been through a lot, and when they find themselves in the middle of a third apocalypse in the same number of weeks, they all react in very different ways. On top of that, the new version of the world they are existing in never had an Umbrella Academy. Instead, they have an entirely new group of powered individuals called the Sparrow Academy. And they’re not fans of our time-travelling dysfunctional family. If you like wacky shows about crazy families, this is definitely one to give a shot!

Movie: “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”

We waited until this came out on Disney+ to get to it. And while I think that some of the more crazy action sequences would have benefitted from a big screen, for the most part, I think this was the right choice. Don’t get me wrong, this was a fun movie in and of itself. But there were also some story choices that I was bewildered and disappointed to see (I’m looking at Wanda’s entire arc here). And Dr. Strange seemed often like a side character in his own movie. I’m also starting to feel a bit confused and concerned about exactly where Marvel is heading with all of these stories. I feel like every single movie I’ve seen from them recently has ended with its own, unique cliffhanger that points to a different big bad and different overarching conflict. At least with Thanos, as long-heralded and slow-coming as he was, we knew where we were headed. Now? I mean, pick any one of the five bread crumb trails, and best of luck to you! That said, Marvel fans should probably check this out, just in case this is, in fact, a precursor of things to come!

Movie: “Encanto”

I’m rather behind my Disney/Pixar watching. I haven’t seen the last several, in fact, since “Frozen 2.” But my kids listen to Pandora Disney almost every day, so I pretty much had pieced together this movie’s story purely by the ability to sing all of the songs in entirety. But on the plane ride back from ALA 2022, this came up as one of the options. Plane rides are stressful at the best of times, so I figured that that was the time for a happy Disney movie is ever there was one. And this movie was everything I expected it to be: fun, funny, and full of great music. I do have to say that I’m a bit sad to not see any romantic storylines in the last several movies that Disney has put out, and I’m bit confused by the decision. But this was still an enchanting film about family and self-acceptance and it was a great way to pass the time on the plane.

Kate’s Picks

TV Show: “Only Murders in the Building”

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez are back for more Upper West Side hijinks in this darkly funny and utterly charming show about murder and secrets in a snooty apartment building. I only recently picked up the end of Season 1 (for whatever reason I fell off even though I liked it so much), and it was just in time for Season 2! I wasn’t sure how they could believably make a Season 2 happen, but they did. Picking up immediately at the end of Season 1, Bunny, former head of the Arcadia Board, was found dead in Mable’s apartment, and she, Oliver, and Charles are the prime suspects. But once they were released with a warning, they decide that not only do they need to clear their names, they now have fodder for Season 2 of their podcast! Martin, Short, and Gomez continue to have great chemistry, and the show is suspenseful, funny, and still super bittersweet when it wants to be. And the new mystery is just as intriguing as Season 1, which is a bonus!

Film: “Compulsion”

This is an entry that isn’t new to me, but it had been a LONG time since watching it. When my favorite podcast did a series on the notorious murderers Leopold and Loeb, they mentioned this film, which I had once been super into because of a adolescent fascination with the case. For the unfamiliar, they were a pair of hyperintelligent teenage killers who murdered a fourteen year old boy just to prove they could, but were caught because one dropped his glasses at the scene of the crime. A media frenzy ensued. This is an adaptation of that story, and it is pretty well done. Not only are the two killers well portrayed (Dean Stockwell is the Leopold character and he’s intense!), but Orson Welles is their attorney, who is based on progressive lawyer extraordinaire Clarence Darrow, who defended the teenagers in real life. My friend Mark and I watched this on my patio and it held up after all the years I hadn’t watched it. And Welles gives a fantastic monologue about the hypocrisy of the death penalty that is SO damn good, which is very heavily based on Darrow’s actual closing arguments.

Film: “Last Night in SoHo”

So this is kind of funny as I had been looking forward to this one, but then I heard some not so great things about it and decided to hold off. And THEN my Terror Tuesday group wanted to watch it, so I figured why not, and ended up really enjoying it! Part mystery, part horror story, part coming of age, it follows Eloise, a young fashion design student who moves from her small town to London for her studies. When she seeks out independent lodging, she rents a run down flat, and as she dreams she starts having visions of a mysterious woman named Sandie. Sandie wants to be a star, but falls into an abusive relationship and starts being pimped out. And then is perhaps murdered. Eloise wants to solve what happened to Sandie, but the visions become more disturbing and more violent as other specters start to haunt her as well. I thought that the imagery was really striking, and while Eloise was a bit of a drip I really liked Anya Taylor-Joy as Sandie. It’s unnerving and posh and creepy and supremely entertaining.

Serena’s Review: “The Darkening”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “The Darkening” by Sunya Mara

Publishing Info: Clarion Books, July 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: In this thrilling and epic YA fantasy debut the only hope for a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm lies with the daughter of failed revolutionaries and a prince terrified of his throne.

Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen’s soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman’s axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen’s soldiers—led by a paranoid prince—catch up to Vesper’s father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate.

Even arm herself with her father’s book of dangerous experimental magic.

Even infiltrate the prince’s elite squad of soldier-sorcerers.

Even cheat her way into his cold heart.

But when Vesper learns that there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’ll have to make a choice if she wants to save her city: trust the devious prince with her family’s secrets, or follow her mother’s footsteps into the Storm.

Review: This was last minute request for me when I was looking around for another July book to fill out my reading list for this month. I’ve been a bit hesitant with YA fantasy for a while, because I feel like more and more I’m struggling to connect to this genre, and I don’t want this blog to just be me repeating myself about something I should be more selective about in the first place. That said, this was a good reminder why I haven’t given up on the genre as a whole since I really enjoyed it!

Living on the very edge of the city, Vesper is constantly aware of the storm at their door, quite literally. The massive storm, full of powerful, raging beasts has slowly been inching inwards for decades, eating the up the remaining land livable for the isolated city. When her revolutionary father’s past catches up with him, Vesper will do anything to save him. As she uncovers more of the threat that is the storm and the powerful magic that is all that holds it back, she realizes that there is more to save than just her father. But to even try means trusting the very people who arrested her father, determined prince and his team of magical warriors.

There was a lot to like about this book, even though much of it will read as very familiar to YA fantasy fans. Mostly, this goes to prove that even well-worn stories and tropes can still come alive if given a solid main character and straight-forward writing. The world itself was very interesting. For one thing, it’s tiny, composed of an ever-shrinking city where, over the decades, rings of neighborhoods have been eaten up by a vicious storm. All that holds the storm back from sweeping through the entire populace is the barely understood magic wielded by the ruler. However, the book explores how even in the midst of an existential crisis that will ultimately be everyone’s problems, people have a persistent ability to not think much about a problem if it’s not affecting them directly.

Our main character, Vesper (YA name alert!), lives on the outer ring where poverty and the ever-present threat of the storm is a very real hazard. Not only that, she comes from a family who were failed revolutionaries, leaving her and her father as wanted criminals. When her father is captured and Vesper travels to the inner ring of the city to save him, she is confronted with the harsh reality of just how out of touch the inner rings are. However, when she meets the prince, she must also confront the idea that in a world such as this, with a threat as large as the storm, sacrifice for the good of all at the expense of some is a very harsh, but very necessary, truth. It was nice to see Vesper have to adjust her own opinions of the world and how the storm is being fought; all too often, heroines such as this end up feeling like sparkly star people who, just by the nature of the story, are the all righteous beginning and ending. And while she brings to attention the plight of the poor, it’s nice to see that she, too, by the nature of her limited world, does not have a full picture of everything going on.

The romance itself was fine. I liked the interactions we had between Vesper and the prince, and the story took a definite turn in the final quarter that I hadn’t seen coming, so that was refreshing. However, I was glad of the other supporting characters who all formed their own unique relationships with Vesper, each helping her fully realize herself and her goals in different ways.

As I said, while there was a lot to like here, YA fantasy fans may find much of it familiar. For example, some of the reveals about the history of the world and the storm were fairly easy to predict (if not in all the details). The romance, too, felt like something I’ve read before, with both Vesper and the prince filling fairly familiar roles. That said, the writing was solid and I read this book quite quickly in only a few sit-downs. It’s always nice to see that there is new YA fantasy coming out that, while familiar, can still draw me in to appreciating the genre. YA fantasy fans should definitely check this one out; mileage may vary depending on how familiar one is with these tropes and themes.

Rating 8: Familiar but in a good way, exploring interesting themes of responsibility, self, and the fight for the betterment of people, both on the macro and micro level.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Darkening” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet but it should be on “Weather Magic.”

Kate’s Review: “Mary: An Awakening of Terror”


This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Mary: An Awakening of Terror” by Nat Cassidy

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, July 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. Unknown even to herself.

But lately, things have been changing inside Mary. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things.

Fired from her job in New York, she moves back to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her past and inner self. Instead, visions of terrifying, mutilated specters overwhelm her with increasing regularity and she begins auto-writing strange thoughts and phrases. Mary discovers that these experiences are echoes of an infamous serial killer.

Then the killings begin again.

Mary’s definitely going to find herself. 

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

I’m a little reluctant to give a concrete number as to the amount of ARCs I got at ALA Annual in June, as the number is staggering and a little out of control. And yet in spite of these numbers I won’t disclose, there were a few books I was hoping I’d pick up but were unable to obtain either because they weren’t there or the timing was off. So I ran to NetGalley and grabbed the titles I wanted that way, which works out just as well (and far more compact in terms of storage, really). One of those books was “Mary: An Awakening of Terror” by Nat Cassidy. I had my eye on it for awhile, as it touts being in similar veins as “Carrie” and “Midsommar”, which catch my eye for varying reasons. And really, look at that cover. Just disturbing as hell right from the jump. By the time I was fully submerged in the story, however, I was a little adrift, feeling like perhaps I had bitten off a little more than I could chew, thematics wise…

First, what I did like about it. And there is a lot to like about this book! Firstly, I liked how Cassidy really wanted to give a unique voice in a horror novel the spotlight. Our main character Mary Mudgett is a middle aged woman who feels invisible, who is experiencing perimenopause, and who is pretty alone in the world. She returns to her hometown after a decades long absence, a bit nervous to return to a place where she was so tormented by her peers and her aunt Nadine. I thought that Cassidy really brought forth the voice of a middle aged woman who feels left behind and forgotten about, and how he tapped into the horrors of societal expectations of aging, misogyny, and isolation and anxiety so authentically. I also thought that a lot of the aspects he explored in this book in terms of plots, from reincarnation to small town secrets to body horror were all very well done, and came together in unique ways that really got his story across. Also, major props to him for addressing his choice to give a middle aged woman a voice when he himself is a younger cishet man, and how he tried his best to be authentic in her voice and experiences. Also, he clearly has a lot of love for “Carrie”, as in his author’s note he explains that Mary is a reimagining of a woman like Carrie who does make it past the night of Prom, and what that would look like.

But here is the thing. Like many fans of horror (and really all kinds of genres), I am someone who has topics and themes that really work for her, and other topics and themes that really don’t. And “Mary: An Awakening of Terror” is incredibly brutal in a lot of ways, and brutality heaped upon me over and over again can wear me down a bit. I was really happy that Cassidy put a thorough content warning before the story began, because I was able to prepare myself a bit before digging in, but even with the content warning I still had moments where I just had to put the book down for a bit. I won’t spoil anything, but there were three vivid moments where I was fairly put off by what I was reading on the page, and one in particular where I almost stopped reading altogether. At the end of the day, this book was a bit too brutal for me. So we’re kind of in the midst of a review that may be more based on preference than actual content. But one thing to keep in mind is that I’m someone who can tolerate a fair amount of horror nonsense in her reading and consuming of other media. It’s rare that I find myself almost abandoning something because of its brutality. So this book may be too brutal for others as well.

Overall, I really liked the voice that Nat Cassidy gave Mary Mudgett, and I liked some of the creative and scary aspects of the novel as well. But at times it wasn’t an experience I was enjoying in the moment because of the content. Your mileage may vary.

Rating 6: Scary and brutal, but perhaps a bit too much so for this reader.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Mary: An Awakening of Terror” is included on the Goodreads list “Anticipated 2022 Horror/Thriller Releases”.

Serena’s Review: “Dead Water”

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Book: “Dead Water” by C.A. Fletcher

Publishing Info: Redhook, July 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: There’s something in the water… On the edge of the Northern Atlantic lies a remote island. The islanders are an outwardly harmonious community—but all have their own secrets, some much darker than others. And when a strange disorder begins to infect them all, those secrets come to light. Ferry service fails and contact with the mainland is lost. Rumors begin to swirl as a temporary inconvenience grows into nightmarish ordeal. The fabric of the once tight-knit island is unnervingly torn apart—and whatever the cause, the question soon stops being how or why it happened, but who, if anyone, will survive.

Review: I’m pretty much treading on Kate’s toes at this point, since this book clearly fits within the horror genre. But to be fair to myself, it’s from an author I’ve read and enjoyed in the past (seriously, “A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World” is fantastic!), so I was just following my own reading track record to read this latest release. It’s also worth noting that this is the second time in about a month where I’ve read a horror book that not only features zombie rabbits but has them on the cover. Trends are weird, man. Anyways, on to the review!

On a small island, accessible only by ferry once a day, there is no escaping one another. For better or worse, everyone knows everyone, and secrets and gossip have a way of coming to the surface. But when a strange malady begins affecting the people of the island, the true inescapabilty of the place hits home. Without knowing the cause of the curse, an ancient thing half lost to memory, who will survive the night of horror ahead?

I’m going to go out on a limb right now and guess that this book will be a bit polarizing to readers. And I think that all comes down to the pacing and stylistic decisions the author makes early in the book. It’s a slow (sloooooow) start to the story, and we are introduced to a large number of POVs in quick succession. For me, because I enjoyed Fletcher’s first book so much and knew that that one had a large payoff at the end for the groundwork laid early on, I had enough faith that this was all going to go somewhere eventually to happily read on. But I imagine for some readers it may be feel like quite a slog. The horror/fantastical aspects of the story really don’t start showing up until almost halfway through the story.

I think this slow build and the sheer number of characters actually worked really well in the end, if you can get there. For one thing, by having this number of characters, you really get a sense for the feeling of the island, where everyone knows everyone, and their lives weave in and out of one another’s in interesting ways. It also created a situation that gives the reader an increased investment in the outcome of the horror that begins to unfold. These are people with hopes, dreams, flaws, and strengths, not simply NPCs dropping like flies with no thought in the world. It was also clever that your opinions of some of the characters changed as the story continued, so those who you thought were easy-fodder-baddies become more interesting in their own right.

There was also an interesting history and myth that slowly unfolds between chapters of the book. Not only did I find this smaller story interesting in its own right, but there was a surprising twist that came into play in the last fourth of the book that really pulled this story into the present situation in a unique way.

There was also a great exploration of grief and family that winds its way throughout the story. We see how much family is a choice that one makes, regardless of blood connections. That families can support each other but also uniquely break one another. One of the main (ish) characters is also struggling with the recent loss of a spouse, and we see her having to confront some of the darker sides of grief. There’s also an interesting touch on faith and belief that comes into play as the story unspools.

In the end, I think the payoff of the last half of the book is well worth the slow start of the story. By the time the horror starts to tack up, you really care about the characters who are in the path of this violence. And woven throughout is a heart-warming story of coming to understand both the tragic but also the bright sides of love and family. If you enjoy slower, immersive reads with a nice touch of horror and fantasy, than this is definitely one to check out!

Rating 8: A slow start ultimately pays off in a creeping, dread-filled story that also explores beautiful themes of family and the power of love.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Dead Water” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet but it should be on Aquatic Horror Books.

Kate’s Review: “Things We Do in the Dark”

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Book: “Things We Do in the Dark” by Jennifer Hillier

Publishing Info: Minotaur Books, July 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her—she knows she’ll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it’s not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it’s only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she’s worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she’s unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris’s secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all.

Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges.

Things We Do in the Dark is a brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts. Paris Peralta is suspected of killing her celebrity husband, and her long-hidden past now threatens to destroy her future.

Review: Thank you to Minotaur Books for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Jennifer Hillier is an author whose novels always get under my skin because of how creepy and unsettling they are. Every year I am on the look out for news of a new book, and imagine how excited I was when Serena handed me some book mail and included was her new novel “Things We Do in the Dark”! While I’m always down for eARCs, print ARCs are just so satisfying to hold in my hand. I saved this one for my plane ride out to D.C., and boy, did I get sucked totally in.

Hillier has once again written a thriller that has a lot of twists and turns with complex build up, interesting characters, and explorations of darker themes that don’t bog down the story. We are dealing with two mysteries in this book, both involving our protagonist Paris Peralta. The first, and most obvious, is the death of her husband Jimmy, an aging comedian who was on the edge of a comeback. Paris was found in the bathroom next to his dead body, with a straight razor in her hand. The second is a bit more convoluted, as Paris has been receiving letter from a convicted murderer name Ruby Reyes, who is threatening to expose OTHER secrets from Paris’s past. It isn’t super clear as to how these two stories connect from the get go, but Hillier relies on the patience of her readers as she slowly starts to drop clues, give background, and introduce us to a whole cast of characters who have secrets, vendettas, painful memories, and regrets. We would jump from Paris’s murder charge, and then we’d go to learn more about Ruby Reyes and the horrible things that SHE did, mostly through the eyes of a podcaster who was friends with her deceased daughter Joey who, like Paris, doesn’t want her to get out on parole, though for different reasons. It takes time to understand how Paris connects to Ruby, but while the burn is slow the payoff is great, and every time I thought I had something figured out, I would realize that there were actually things that I had missed. IN terms of the two mysteries, Hillier balances them both and I liked both of them quite a lot, especially after they merged.

But what makes Hillier’s stories stand out from other thrillers is that she tackles some pretty dark themes without letting them overwhelm the story. Paris is a Filipino American whose race has been a factor that has led to whispers about her relationship with her husband, and she has tried to fit in within an upper class lifestyle in spite of the racism (and classism) she’s had to deal with her entire life. We also look into her past as a survivor of various things, and how her poverty stricken childhood within a dangerous and abusive home situation has made her strive to escape a dark past. Paris has issues, Paris has secrets, but she is always intriguing and compelling as she tries to clear her name… and to also keep her secrets at bay. With these dark elements, however, come content warnings, and I want to mention that there are moments of sexual abuse, parental abuse, and other intense subjects. Hillier is careful to make sure that it doesn’t get super graphic or super exploitative, but it’s just good to know.

I really liked “Things We Do in the Dark”. Hillier is a must read thriller author for me, hands down, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!

Rating 8: A thrilling novel about trauma, identity, and the secrets we keep.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Things We Do in the Dark” is included on the Goodreads list “Mystery and Thriller 2022”.

Joint Review: “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau”

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Book: “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publishing Info: Del Rey, July 2022

Where Did We Get This Book: We received eARCs from NetGalley and Edelweiss+.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a dreamy reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.

Carlota Moreau: a young woman, growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of either a genius, or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: a melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: the fruits of the Doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them living in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction. For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.

THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU is both a dazzling historical novel and a daring science fiction journey.

Kate’s Thoughts

It is basically guaranteed at this point that if Silvia Moreno-Garcia has a book coming out, no matter what the genre, I am going to read it. I have enjoyed practically all of her books and her chameleon-like ability to merge into practically any genre as though she is a master of it. And while I haven’t read “The Island of Doctor Moreau”, I know enough about it that the idea of her taking it on was incredibly tantalizing. Especially since she decided to set it in the Yucatán during a volatile time in Mexican political history. And lo and behold, even though I wasn’t super familiar with the source material, and even though I’m not generally a Sci-Fi fan, “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” worked wonders for me.

I think that it’s really the setting and the descriptions that gave it the extra kick for me. Moreno-Garcia has never been shy when it comes to addressing various social aspects of Mexican culture and history, and lord knows that Spanish colonialism and imperial oppression are themes that fit right into the original story of the Other and men who believe themselves to be able to play God. We have Dr. Moreau and his daughter Carlotta, who are living in isolation as Moreau creates ‘hybrids’, beings of combined animal and human genetics, which he does in pursuit of science. But funding has to come from somewhere, and therefore the wealthy Spanish descended benefactors intend to give Moreau money in exchange for laborers for their plantation. So we already have one central caste system with our main characters (as well as an outlier of Montgomery, an English doctor who is the overseer of the hybrids who is trying to escape his own dark past), one that reflects foreign influences, Spanish imperialism, and those perceived as less than. I liked seeing how Moreno-Garcia explored these themes, through the eyes of both Carlotta but also Montgomery as they have to face realities about their complicity, as well as things about their own identities. The historical aspects are on point, and Moreno-Garcia always has some great insights to explore through the genre conventions.

The streak continues for my love of Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Even if you are unfamiliar with the original tale, “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” will have a lot to offer. Do yourself a favor and dive into Moreno-Garcia’s works if you haven’t yet, and here is as good a place as any to start!

Serena’s Thoughts

I think there are a few things you can now expect from a book authored by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. First, she’ll have stellar characters and the story will be told from the perspective of several of them (even more unique to her, the “villain” of many of her stories will also have a perspective point). Second, the story may be a slow-burn as far as the overall tempo of the story, but if you have faith, things will very much get moving before long. And third, you can never expect what genre you will find yourself in with this author. She has an uncanny ability of weaving together a variety of seemingly completely different concepts and themes and somehow…magic happens! We’ve already seen a mixture of the classic Gothic horror story with a Mexican setting and themes of colonialism. And here, we have a reimaging of the “The Island of Doctor Moreau” set in the Yucatan peninsula during the 1800s. It’s horror, it’s science fiction, it’s historical fiction. All at once!

I only knew the most broad points of the original tale, so I can only confirm that this story was approachable as new-comer. I was able to get a pretty decent understanding of that story, but having not read it myself, I can’t say what details may or may not match up. What I can say is that Moreno-Garcia uses the platform offered up by this story (a grieving doctor and his “monstrous” creations) as a platform to explore themes of identity and otherness, and the combination works really well. Our main character, the titular daughter of the doctor, brings a unique perspective to the story, as a young woman coming into her own in a very isolated and strange environment.

As I said, one of the best things about this story is how it blends the science fiction and horror elements with the historical backdrop of this region during this time period. Like the original story itself, I didn’t have a ton of knowledge of the politics and parties involved during this time period, but the book does an excellent job introducing readers. The author also includes a great note at the end of the story that speaks to her research into this period of history. I definitely recommend this book to science fiction/horror readers, and to anyone who has enjoyed Moreno-Garcia’s books in the past!

Kate’s Rating 8: A science fiction tale that steeps in literary description and a lush historical setting, “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” is another enjoyable read from genre jumper Silvia Moreno-Garcia!

Serena’s Rating 8: Another unique entry by one of the most reliable (but genre unreliable) authors of the day. Should be a hit with a wide range of readers!

Reader’s Advisory

“The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” is included on the Goodreads lists “Latino Science Fiction”, and “Historical Fiction Set in Latin America”.

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